Fear of Falling
by DragonBabe12
Summary: A long time ago a girl named Vanessa Kendrick disappeared from Jim Hawkins's 5th grade class. He vaguely knew her, so he didn't think too much of it until the same girl showed up on a pirate ship about to raid his. The crew of the R.L.S. Legacy was victorious and Vanessa was taken as an unexpected prisoner. She was allowed to stay on the ship as they journeyed to Treasure Planet.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Yay! A new story :D now I just need to finish my other stories lol. Update for ya'll, Eternal Doldrums has one chapter left before it's finished, Gothic Keys Chronicles will never end because it's a series of one shots and I'll keep updating every time I think of a new one to post, and Love or Revenge is about . . . 20 or more chapters from ending? ^^' haha they're only one term in, and more drama will continue between Jane and Draco.**

**I've always loved Treasure Planet, even though its science fiction. I've never really been into space and stuff, but this move got me hooked. You have to admit that Disney does make some killer movies. I fell in love with Treasure Planet the moment I saw bad boy Jim riding his solar surfer O/O Did you guys know that they were going to make a Treasure Planet 2, but because the first one was such a box office failure, they decided against it. How could this be a box office failure?!**

**Haha, look at me rambling! You probably want to get on with the story, don't you?**

******Full Summary: A long time ago a girl named Vanessa Kendrick disappeared from Jim Hawkins's 5th grade class. He vaguely knew her, so he didn't think too much of it until the same girl showed up on a pirate ship about to raid his. The crew of the R.L.S. Legacy was victorious and Vanessa was taken as an unexpected prisoner. She was allowed to stay on the ship as they journeyed to Treasure Planet, and over time Jim gets the quiet, shy girl to loosen up and live life.**

******R&R! ^^**

* * *

Jim Hawkins only remembered a few kids from his childhood. Vanessa Kendrick was one of them, though why he remembered her he wasn't too sure. Vanessa was a quiet, defensive girl. She'd never spoken a word to him, and there was nothing too special about her. If anything he recalled how she always avoided him like the plague, and that he could somewhat understand. Jim didn't have too many friends or people to talk to when he was young.

Despite her quietness, Vanessa Kendrick was a girl that everyone remembered, if only her name. One day she was in class, and the next day she wasn't. Jim walked into his 5th grade classroom and found everyone in an uproar. Next to the teacher's desk was the teacher, Vanessa's parents, and a couple of police bots. Her mother was in tears, a tissue constantly held to her face, and her father spoke in a quiet but harsh tone, refusing to believe what happened to his daughter. The whole school was freaking out. There were so many rumors, it was hard to tell which one was even close to being the truth. But one fact remained: Vanessa had disappeared.


	2. The Twilight Horror

Stupid captain. Stupid cyborg. Stupid mop and bucket. Here he was, on the greatest adventure of his life, and he was swabbing the deck. Jim should have been exploring the _R.L.S. Legacy _and all its secrets from head to toe, not doing chores for the cook. It was humiliating.

Jim stopped his mopping and looked up into space, his nerves suddenly shot with excitement and adrenaline. He thought of all the things he would see that no one else was lucky enough to, especially Treasure Planet. Maybe he could do something right this time, and he wouldn't feel like such a screw up.

The teenage boy went back to swabbing. His mood soured once more, "Yeah, I got your Mr. Mop," he muttered under his breath.

A tall, brutish man with four arms and grey skin lumbered past Jim, pushing him out of his way. Jim stumbled, holding onto the mop for support and looking somewhat startled. The alien turned back to him. His face was colored red and both his eyes were looking in different directions, making it hard for him to tell if the guy was high or if he had some kind of sight problem.

"Watch it, twerp," the brute threatened.

_You're the one who bumped into me, _Jim thought with annoyance. His blue eyes wandered around the deck and spotted three of the crew members having a conversation over a barrel. He couldn't hear what they were saying; their tones were hushed and hurried.

Jim didn't like the crew Doc hired for this ship. Each one of them looked shifty and untrustworthy, most importantly Silver, the cyborg. Everything about him said he was trouble. Jim had become suspicious of him the moment he saw the man's mechanical arm, leg, and eye. A cyborg on the crew going to Treasure Planet, while just last night the Inn was burnt to the ground because of a cyborg chasing after an old salamander for a treasure map? Coincidence? He thought not.

Jim kept an eye on the three crew members as they talked. Looking up to see he was watching them, one of the men shushed the other two and they glared over at him.

"What are you looking at, weirdo?" said the shirtless, bearded man. At least, Jim thought it was one man until the head detached from the body and crawled onto the barrel. Then a face appeared on the now headless torso with arms and legs.

"Yeah, weirdo,"

_Sure, I'm the weirdo, _Jim thought.

A hiss sounded above his head and Jim looked up to find some kind of spider thing with big yellow eyes and an elongated jaw climbing down toward him from the shrouds.

"Cabin boys should learn to mind their own business," the spider alien hissed.

Jim got cocky as he dabbed his mop into a bucket of soapy water, smirking, "Why? Got something to hide, bright eyes?"

The spider's sideways pear-shaped eyes widened in astonishment of being talked back to, and then narrowed perilously. He gripped Jim by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. Jim struggled, his legs flailing.

"Maybe your ears don't work so well," he suggested, face close enough to Jim's for his putrid breath to wash over his face. Jim cringed and cocked his head over his shoulder in attempt to get the smell out of his nose.

"Yeah, too bad my nose works just fine," he coughed.

"Why, you imprudent little - !"

Jim was slammed roughly against the mast, the action accompanied by encouraging shouts from the crew. It was pointless for him to fight as he was in no position to do so, but he fought anyway. The spider psycho snapped one of his large claws before bringing the sharp end to Jim's throat.

"Any last words, cabin boy?"

_None too appropriate, _he thought.

Just before the spider could slit his throat, his claw was caught by Silver's motorized arm. He was dressed in a long, dark coat and a black captain's hat, and in his hand was a small purp. Silver casually took a bite of the fruit, smacking his lips,"Mr. Scoop – do you know what happens when you squeeze a purp _real hard?_" he squeezed the spider's arm and twisted it backward, making Scoop scream in pain and drop the boy on his ass. Jim looked up at Silver disbelievingly. Why would he defend him?

A fight most definitely would have broken out if it weren't for a dark shadow that cast over the scene. The crew's eyes widened, their expressions apprehensive but eager. A loud roar, and suddenly the ship rocked, jerking Jim forward and flat onto his stomach.

"What the - ?"

"We're under attack!" Captain Amelia shouted.

When Jim looked up, he saw a ship the size of theirs, though worn out and damaged from years of battle, floating above theirs. Atop their mast waved a black flag with an alien skull and crossed bones.

A pirate ship.

"Prepare yourselves, men!" Mr. Arrow ordered. A second blast of bright purple light headed towards them and hit the side of the boat, making it lurch sharply. Jim pushed himself off the floor and ran to the edge of the deck. The pirate ship lowered to their level, close enough for him to see the ship's captain. He was tall, so tall and thin he could be mistaken for a light post. His skin was made up of bright orange scales, and he had two sets of green eyes, and an extra one on his forehead.

"Drop your sails and prepare to be boarded, or face death!" the captain shouted, jabbing a sword at them.

"Who is that?" Jim asked Silver. He must have sailed around enough to know most of the pirates in the galaxy.

Silver squinted his eyes, his right one glowing bright red, before he answered, "Aye, that'd be Captain Tromis and _The Twilight Horror._ Nasty man,"

"Your orders, Captain?" Mr. Arrow asked immediately.

The cat woman captain pondered the situation, but not quickly enough. The pirates shot a third laser ball at them that rocked the ship so badly everyone was knocked off their feet. A hole was created at the bow, the wood splintered and wires frayed.

Captain Amelia got to her feet quick as possible and yelled, "We fight!"

The pirate ship leveled with theirs with practiced ease, their cannons blasting at the exterior of the enemy ship. Four claws came from the outer compartments and attached to the deck, pulling them close for the kill.

Jim's nerves were screaming with excitement as he watched someone unlock the weapons vault and pass around laser pistols to the riled up crew, who were ready for battle. As the pirates stomped onto their boat with confident jeers, the crew countered their attack.

Somewhere in the chaos, Jim was handed a charged pistol, "Alright!" Jim shouted keenly. He looked around for a test subject and found an alien with an eye patch and a pirate tattoo on her arm coming at him. Aiming the gun, he shot a laser at her stomach area. The alien stumbled in pain and with a grunt she fell off the side of the boat.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Jim climbed into the shrouds as high as he could to get a better look at the situation. The crew had pushed the pirates back to their own ship, though a few were still on the _Legacy. _The fight was going faster than he expected. Jim pushed the gun into his pocket and grabbed a hanging rope, ready to swing onto the enemy ship.

"Jim!" he glanced down to see Doc cowering under the control panel gaping up at him, "Be careful! I want to bring you back to your mother in one piece!"

"I will!" and with that he pushed himself from the shrouds and swung down to the bow of the buccaneer vessel, knocking over a few pirates with his feet on the way. He landed smoothly on the wooden floor and removed his pistol, charging it and shooting at anyone he believed not to be from his boat. Most of the time he aimed successfully, but sometimes he missed, like when he hit Scoops in one of his legs. Jim ducked behind a group of barrels when the spider psycho glared around for the cause of the not-so-random attack.

And then he heard a girl's shriek.

"Let go of me!"

A few feet behind him stood the captain with a human girl that looked his age in his clawed grasp. The girl writhed to get away from him with such desperateness that it shocked Jim.

"Where do you think you're going, girl?" Captain Tromis snapped in a scratchy voice.

"Get away! Let me go!"

Captain Tromis picked her up by the front of her shirt, bringing her to his height. She gasped and screamed, her legs kicking around for something solid. He shook her violently, making her head bob backward.

"I'm not done with you, my trinket. You're staying right here until the day you die,"

Jim cocked his pistol and subtly aimed it at the captain when he heard the girl sob. His shot hit the alien man's shoulder and he cried out, dropping the girl in surprise. Jim fired another shot, and another, until Captain Tromis was too injured to get up. He ran to the girl and helped her to her feet. She flinched from his touch.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She didn't answer as the ship suddenly shook. Someone was at the control panel, pulling wires and smashing random hardware.

"It's going to blow!" someone shouted

Something grabbed Jim by the scruff of his neck and threw him against a wall, making stars appear in his eyes. Captain Tromis knelt in front of him with a ferocious glare that sent his insides into a panic.

"Bad move boy," the captain said, and it was then he noticed that he had taken his own gun and was now pointing it at his chest, "You're going to wish you'd never been born,"

Gritting his teeth, Jim followed the first idea that came into his head and kicked the man in the stomach. He doubled over, his finger slipping on the trigger. Jim heard the ear splitting shot before he felt pain in his lower stomach area. Pain so bad it brought tears to his eyes. The force of it sent him back against the wall again and made his vision fuzzy. But he had no time to sit there unless he wanted to be blown to pieces. Pushing the agony into the far back of his mind, Jim mustered inhuman strength as he grabbed the arm of Captain Tromis and threw him overboard. He didn't look to make sure that the pirate was floating off in space.

"Retreat!" called Captain Amelia, "All hands back to your positions! Retreat!"

Jim looked around for the girl and saw her on her knees a few feet from him. She was gaping with awe while holding her upper right arm.

"Why did you - ?" she croaked.

He didn't let her finish her sentence, "Come on, we gotta go!" he grabbed her hand and felt her tense up, but ignored it. She let him lead her through the bedlam of people to the _Legacy, _where they collapsed on the deck. The pirate ship jerked violently, releasing a series of whirring broken hardware and sizzling.

"Get us away from that contraption as far as possible!" Captain Amelia ordered.

Four members of the crew detached the claws that held the two ships together and Mr. Turnbuckle, the navigator, steered them away at full speed. Jim watched as the pirate vessel grew smaller and smaller, and then exploded into a ball of fire and debris.


	3. The Missing Found

The crew cheered in victory.

"Jim, Jim are you alright?!" Delbert rushed over to Jim and gave him a quick inspection, his eyes stopping on the boy's stomach. His shirt had a large burn hole in it, the fabric singed black, and a section of his skin was cauterized and held a gaping wound. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been a moment ago, but it was still hurt like hell, "Oh God, you're hurt!"

"I'm fine, really," Jim grunted.

"We need to get you medical attention right away! I thought I told you to be careful!"

Jim rolled his eyes. The crew quieted when Captain Amelia cleared her throat from the top of the stairs next to the wheel, "All heads accounted for, Mr. Arrow?" she asked.

"Yes, Captain," Mr. Arrow answered with a salute.

"Very good. Congratulations, gentlemen, on your conquest. Thankfully we have the sufficient supplies to repair the damage. I want all personnel who aren't on a continuous duty or injured to be cleaning up and restoring. Those injured will be taken below deck to the ship's infirmary and taken care of,"

Delbert glanced nonchalantly to his side and then did a double take when he noticed the girl kneeling on the floor, "Wait a minute, who's this?"

All eyes turned to look at her, and it became dead silent. Not even the etherium winds blew. Then the barrels of guns were pointed at her as someone mentioned she was from the pirate ship. Jim could see her visibly trembling with fright and her eyes were brimming with hopelessness.

Now that they weren't in danger, Jim could get a better look at her. She was rather pretty, even under all the grime and blood that covered her skin. Her hair was poppy red, tied into two messy braids that hung over her shoulders and topped with a lavender bandana. The eyes that showed forlornness were burnt ochre, and her cheeks were sunken in. Her clothes, a white blouse with mismatched sleeves and dark brown shorts, were torn in several places. Her body was slender enough for him to see the outlines of her bones, but there were muscles on those bones.

"Hold your fire!" Captain Amelia said. Reluctantly the men lowered their weapons as she approached the girl, surveying her with suspicion but a strange gentleness, "You're from the vessel we just destroyed?"

The girl gulped and nodded, "Y-Yes,"

"What is your name, girl?"

"Vanes-s-sa K-Kendrick,"

Jim whipped his head around to look down at her, his body tensing. No, that couldn't be. Vanessa Kendrick disappeared from Montressor four years ago. The memories of that day in class flooded back to him. This couldn't be the same girl. Although, now that he took an even closer look at her, Jim did see a resemblance of the eleven-year-old chick he barely knew.

"Vanessa Kendrick . . ." Delbert was momentarily distracted from Jim as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Vanessa Kendrick . . . you mean you're the girl that -"

Jim elbowed Delbert in the ribs, shutting him up immediately. Why he did he couldn't illuminate, even to himself. But he felt that now was not the time to replay the girl's past. And from the look on her face, she didn't think so either.

"Vanessa Kendrick, how strong is your allegiance to your former vessel?" Captain Amelia questioned.

Vanessa's fearful gaze gained a hardness to it, "There is no allegiance, madam,"

With a purse of her lips, the cat woman took this into consideration. She stared at Vanessa a moment longer before turning her back on her, "Take her to the brig until we decide what to do with her,"

Two men grabbed her underneath her arms, causing her to writhe and whimper. Jim watched as they dragged her below deck.

"Come on, Jim," Delbert tugged at his shoulder, "Let's get you fixed up,"

But Jim couldn't move. All he could do was stare at the place they had taken her.

* * *

The brig was cleaner than the other ships Vanessa had been on. The metal cot she sat on had a stained, flat cushion on it and there was a small toilet on the other side of the cell. Thick bars kept her in, and a faint smell of mold lingered in the air. All in all, it was a thousand percent better than where she'd been living.

Vanessa winced when she tried to lie down on her side and looked at her am. There was a tear on her flesh, obscured by both dried and fresh blood. Captain Tromis cut her when she tried to escape _The Twilight Horror. _Relief filled every vein in her body as the ship's demise replayed behind her closed eyelids. Tromis was dead. He and his damn crew would no longer torment her. She could live the rest of her life without fear.

No, that wasn't completely true. She would always live in fear after the horrible events that befell her. And who knows what would happen to her now. If she were lucky, they would let her stay on the boat.

The sound of boots stomping down the stairs made Vanessa tense and curl into a sitting ball. A boy appeared past the bars, the same boy that pushed Tromis off the boat and saved her. He was around her age, maybe a few months to a year older. Tall and lean, he was definitely built under those baggy clothes, although now he wasn't wearing a shirt. His torso was wrapped in white gauze underneath a leather jacket. The teenager had medium brown hair that was of short length on the upper part of his head and shaved shorter near the bottom. His skin was sun worn, he had bright blue eyes, and his left ear was pierced with a golden hoop.

He looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't put a name to the face.

They didn't speak to each other. He only stared at her. Vanessa fidgeted on her cot, pulling her bent legs tighter to her chest. Then he licked his lips and spoke to her.

"Are you really Vanessa Kendrick?"

What was he getting at? He acted like he knew her; like he was making sure it was her. Hesitantly she nodded, and heard him inhale sharply.

"Do you remember me?" he asked. When she shook her head in answer, a small smirk stretched across his lips and he chuckled lightly, "Don't expect you to. We've never talked before,"

"And who are you?" she asked quietly.

"James Hawkins," he answered

James Hawkins . . . Jim . . . Jim Hawkins . . .

_Oh. Now she remembered him._

Jim Hawkins was a bad boy. His appearance now made sense to her; he just screamed rebel. At a young age, Jim was already showing signs that he would be a teenager with a defiant attitude. He'd been caught several times for riding his solar surfer in restricted areas, broke enough laws that he almost went to juvenile hall, and even at eleven he had the whole anti-social, bad boy thing going for him. From the rumors, he lived for danger and adventure. That was years ago. She had no idea how much trouble he'd gotten in by now. Vanessa's mother told her to stay away from people like that if she wanted a future, so she had never spoken to Jim and avoided him at all costs.

It was strange to see him now, how much she remembered of him and how much he had grown. No doubt he was still a trouble maker. What the hell was he doing on a ship, she wondered.

"Still don't remember?" he asked.

"No, I remember you,"


	4. TLC

That was the last sentence she spoke to him until what felt like a whole day later when someone else came to visit her. Jim tried to get her to tell him why she disappeared from Montressor, but by that point she'd lost the nerve to keep talking to him. The advice her mother gave her was fresh in her mind, and for a reason she couldn't explain, Vanessa was determined to follow it.

She heard another pair of footsteps thudding down the wooden stairs. They were much heavier than Jim's were. Opening her eyes, Vanessa saw a large man made of rocks at the door of her cell. His clothing told her that he was of a high position on the crew. His name had something to do with a weapon. Mr. Sword? Mr. Wand? Mr. Arrow? Yes, yes, that was it.

"The Captain wishes to see you," he announced and he unlocked her cell.

"How long have I been down here?" her voice cracked in the middle of her words due to a severely dry throat.

"One day," Mr. Arrow answered, "The Captain likes to deal with things in a timely matter,"

Vanessa slowly stood and followed him closely across the deck to the captain's quarters. Several crewmates hollered and whistled rudely at her as they passed. Hanging her head, she felt a blush creep along her freckled cheeks. So it was one of those kinds of ships.

The captain's quarters were stunning and elegant, yet simple. The floors were of polished wood and the walls a creamy white lined with gold. Sitting in a desk in the middle of the room was Captain Amelia herself, pouring over a map of the quadrant they were currently in. Also peering at the map was a dog-like man that Vanessa remembered from her hope planet. And leaning against a wall was Jim. Vanessa trained her eyes to look away from him, though she could feel his stare burning holes in the side of her head.

Captain Amelia glanced up from the map, "Ah, there you are. Thank you, Mr. Arrow,"

Mr. Arrow saluted his superior and took a place by her side. Vanessa stood by herself, still gripping her arm to put pressure on the wound. She waited with baited breath for the decision of her fate.

"Ms. Kendrick, we have decided that – dear, what is that around your neck?"

She couldn't look down, but knew what the captain was talking about. Her insides squirmed and she bit the inside of her cheek. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a raspy sound. Captain Amelia pushed a glass of water that sat at on her desk to the edge, and Vanessa took it gratefully. She gulped the entire thing before trying to speak again, and when she did it was very carefully, "A location collar, ma'am,"

"A location collar?" Delbert asked with a quirk of his dark brow.

Captain Amelia rolled her eyes at the doctor's stupidity, "How shall I explain this to you in the most simplest of ways? A location collar gives off the precise location of the wearer -"

"I know what a location collar is," Delbert interrupted, turning his attention back to Vanessa, "Why did they put a location collar on you?

"To keep an eye on her obviously,"

"It's cruel and inhumane,"

Mr. Arrow cleared his throat and he was given the floor, "Might I add, Captain, that the locator device now changes everything? Those pirate could be tracking her at this very moment and follow us to our destination,"

"You do have a point," Captain Amelia said slowly, "This is a very important mission. We can't risk any tag-a-longs,"

They were going to cast her out. Evidently this mission, whatever it was, was important. It was like her tongue swelled in her mouth, preventing her from standing up for herself. She would be left to die alone in space.

Then suddenly Jim muttered, "They won't track her,"

"And how can you be so sure?" Mr. Arrow asked harshly.

Jim stuffed his wide hands into the pockets of the black leather jacket he wore, "We destroyed their ship. Everyone's either dead or floating in space. How could they possibly track her?"

"What was the name of the captain and the ship?" Captain Amelia asked Vanessa.

She pushed the words out of her mouth, "Captain Tromis and The Twilight Horror," Jim noticed she shuddered as he said the names.

The captain nodded with recognition, "I've heard of them. Nasty pirates, they are. They won't be terrorizing anyone now that we've taken care of them," she looked at the map below her for an unfocused second, and then back up at Vanessa, "I'm going to take Mr. Hawkins's word and assume that no one will be tracking you. We will be returning to the Montrssor Spaceport in five months' time. You will be allowed to leave the ship then. Until that time, Ms. Kendrick, you will stay on this ship under my charge, and under the cook, Mr. Silver, when I have nothing for you to do. Is that understood?"

"Yes, captain," Vanessa breathed.

"Very good. Gentlemen, you are dismissed. Ms. Kendrick, stay here for a moment,"

The men left without a word, and Jim threw Vanessa a calculated look before he left. Captain Amelia locked the door behind them and came closer to her. She picked at her clothes and hair and examined the multiple wounds on her flesh with a light tsk.

"Dear, you are in need of some tender loving care," the woman informed her. Her tone was much softer than the one she used to command her crew. When she came to Vanessa's hand covering her wound, he gently removed the limb so she could see what needed to be done.

"It doesn't look too deep," she noticed, "You got this recently?"

Vanessa only nodded her head. The woman took another look at her before motioning for her to come along to another section of her quarters. This room had a luxury bed on one side and a dresser and basin of water on the other. Going straight to the golden eight-drawer dresser, she rummaged through them, pulling out several garments and dropping them on the bed.

"These should fit you just fine. Pick out an outfit to wear until we get your clothes clean. You can use the water in the basin to wash."

Captain Amelia left her to clean herself up. Vanessa picked through the clothing and found a black long sleeved shirt, a blue wool skirt, and a pair of bright yellow tights. Before she put the outfit on, she took off her own and folded it into a neat pile on the bed. Vanessa then proceeded to wash away the dirt and dried blood from her skin. Some of the tension she had vanished at the sight of clean skin, but the wounds and scars only looked uglier. They made her shudder just by looking at them. She washed her hair as best she could, and then washed her favored lavender bandana.

Vanessa stepped out of the captain's bedroom when she was dressed and clean. Captain Amelia stood at her desk again looking over the map. A spark of curiosity ignited in Vanessa. Her skin itched to step closer and peer at the atlas, but she held back. Captain Amelia looked up at the sound of Vanessa closing the door behind her.

"Much better," she nodded her approval and glanced back down, "Now about sleeping arrangements – seeing as you are the only female besides myself, and I know how men act when in the presence of a pretty face, you may sleep in my quarters or anywhere else on the ship,"

Vanessa blushed and looked at the tips of her boots, "Thank you, Captain,"

"Just let me know if you decide to sleep here. I'll have a cot pulled in for you," she marked something on the map, "I have no work for you at the moment. Go and see if Mr. Silver has work for you. He's in the galley; I assume you know where that is?"

Nodding, Vanessa went to the exit, which was now unlocked. On her way out, she heard Captain Amelia call to her, "And see if he can get that collar off,"


	5. Shocking

In a timid manner Vanessa Kendrick walked down to the galley. The ship was now a construction zone, and the majority of the crew was cleaning up the destruction and repairing engines and such. She passed a small group of men who leered at her, their eyes brimming with lust and danger.

"Hey baby girl, how you doin'?" shouted an enormously fat alien with twisted spikes on his head. She didn't make eye contact, but picked up her pace. Their protruding stairs and loud cackles followed her down the wooden steps to the galley. A tall, obese cyborg stood at the stove, whistling a merry tune, and Jim Hawkins sat on one of the long wooden tables with a purp in his hand. He turned his head to look back at the intruder. Vanessa's eyes went back to the hem of her dark blue skirt.

"Why hello there!" the cyborg greeted, "Ye be the Captain's charge, yes?"

She nodded in response. Vanessa seemed to do a lot of nodding instead of talking.

The cyborg closed the distance between them and held out a robotic hand for her to shake, "I be Mr. Silver."

Vanessa did not shake it and continued her downcast stare.

"Aw, you too?" he sighed and retreated back to the kitchen section of the room, "You ain't be the only one, darling. Jimbo don't like me hardware either."

She took the chance to look at Jim, who was now glaring at Mr. Silver. Did he have some sort of prejudice against cyborgs?

"What's your name, girl?" Mr. Silver asked.

Vanessa took a deep breath before speaking, "V-Vanessa. Um – Captain Amelia doesn't have any work for me, so she sent me down here,"

"Speaking of work," Mr. Silver directed his red robotic eye at Jim, "Have you finished swabbing the deck, Jimbo?"

Jim only shrugged, taking a juicy bite of his purp.

"Well hop to it lad, and don't come back when you're – what in blue blazes be on your neck, Nessie?"

"Location collar," Jim answered in a monotone voice without missing beat, "She needs it taken off,"

"Let's see what we can do 'bout that. Come and sit down, lass."

Vanessa bit her lip but obliged and took a spot next to the boy on the table. Jim looked at her though the corner of his eyes but said nothing. Silver came close and assessed the contraption around her throat. His mechanical hand changed into a wrench, and he went to loosen a bolt. She whimpered and scooted back on the table.

"It's alright, I won't hurt ye," still he brought the wrench nearer.

"You can't take it off," she griped, her voice hitching in anxiety, "If you touch it, it'll -"

His tool touched the metal of the collar and a burst of electricity shocked them both. Silver let out a yelp and stumbled back. Vanessa screamed as she fell back on the table, feeling the skin on her throat burning. It felt like the pain went on for years, but it stopped in a short second. The shock left her breathless. Every time she tried to inhale, her chest seized up painfully. There was a scent of burning flesh that hung in the air. Jim bent over Vanessa, his expression matching the event that just happened.

"Are you alright?" he reached down to help her sit up, but she flinched away, making his hands recoil.

"What in blazes was that?!" Silver grunted as he struggled to sit up.

"I t-tried to tell you," Vanessa gasped, "You can't t-take it off unl-less you h-h-have the key. Otherwise it sh-shocks you a-and me," she sat up when she felt strong enough, and this time Jim didn't help her. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed the electricity from the nerves in her arms.

"Then, lass, I don't know how to help ye. I don't wants to hurt you,

Vanessa nodded, swallowing against the agonizing lump in her throat. She'd lived with this collar for about three years. She could live with it a while longer.

"I'll try and think of a painless way to remove the collar. In the meantime, let's put you to work. Jimbo, go swab the rest of the deck,"

Jim groaned, "But there are people working up there. It's just gonna get messy again anyway."

"Then you better get started, and don't come back until ye've finished. Nessie, you can help me chop veggies for dinner and help Jim later. And good God, someone get this girl a purp. Thin as a skeleton, this one is,"

Jim grumbled under his breath and slid off the table. Her side felt cold without his presence. Reaching into the barrel of purple fruit nearby, he picked two of them and tossed one to Vanessa. His eyes held pity when he looked at her.


End file.
